DMG MORI is pushing forward CELOS and intelligent software solutions as the elementary basis of the digital transformation of manufacturing process chains.

The topic “Industry 4.0” is dominating the discussion of the future like no other, even in the sector of machine tool construction. As the leading manufacturer of machine tools worldwide, DMG MORI supports its customers on their way to digital transformation with the app-based CELOS system and other intelligent software solutions.

The digital change is also taking place in machine tool construction with increasing momentum. This in turn means that software is also becoming more and more important, even in the manufacturing environment. That is why companies in the branch are keeping a close eye on the developments and are fully aware that the foundations for Industry 4.0 must be laid in everyday manufacturing now and in the near future. DMG MORI supports its customers with the digital transformation on the basis of integral, seamless solutions.

CELOS enables smooth entry into the future of metal cutting production, because this takes place gradually. Customers who decide for CELOS today receive firstly unlimited access to the existing 16 CELOS APPs and secondly they open up the chance of benefiting from future applications.

A key building block in DMG MORI’s customer-oriented digitalisation strategy is the app-based CELOS system, which the machine tool manufacturer first presented around three years ago and which it has consistently continued to develop in a targeted manner ever since. Using this uniform user interface for machine and office PC employees in shop floor and job scheduling can manage, document and visualise job order, process and machine data.

Thanks to its open architecture, CELOS allows the exchange of information with higher–level structures in addition to its effects in the shop floor area. So CELOS offers customers complete integration of their machines in the company organisation while simultaneously creating today the interface of metal cutting production in the cyber-physical production system of the future. The benefits in day-to-day operation are convincing: a 30 % time saving in tooling times and 50 % lower time and effort for the calculation of technology values or the search for important information are just a few of the effects that can be achieved with CELOS.

Due to the continuous development of future applications, CELOS offers a smooth entry into software products related to Industry 4.0. Customers who decide for CELOS today receive firstly unlimited access to the existing 16 CELOS APPs and secondly the chance to benefit from future applications – because CELOS is and will remain upwardly compatible.

These benefits alone minimise the barrier to entry enormously. And what is more, the CONTROL APP from CELOS enables the continued use of existing programmes, so employees can go on working in their familiar programming and control environments.

DMG MORI process chain – a key component of software strategy

The DMG MORI process chain is a prime example of a successful digital transformation and a practical link from the virtual to the real world. This is substantiated by both numerous successful customer applications and by the competence partnership between DECKEL MAHO Seebach GmbH and the Porsche LMP1 team. The background of this cooperation is the premium partnership between DMG MORI and the Porsche Motorsport Team. Porsche has won the drivers' as well as the manufacturers' classification in the recently finished season of the World Endurance Championship.

The so-called Porsche Motorsport Center in Seebach produces among other things complex pump housings from different materials and technically demanding fixing elements in mini-series. The developers from the racing team supply the necessary CAD data, while the machining experts in Seebach are responsible for the entire process through to the finished workpiece: starting with the processing of the CAD data and CAM programming with the Siemens NX CAM and on to 1:1 simulation on the DMG MORI Virtual Machine and right on through to the high-precision finishing on our high-tech machines.

Based on the virtualised process chain, machining centers can be optimised in advance thus allowing perfect planning, effective prevention of collisions and a reduction of setup time to an absolute minimum. In other words, the importance of the DMG MORI Virtual Machine is comparable to that of the racing simulator for the pilots. It enables a 1:1 simulation under real conditions – including machine kinematics and control. The result is a high degree of safety and speed in the (exciting) real world.

Shop-floor-oriented programming is still of great importance especially in single item production and the production of small and medium-sized quantities – and it will remain just as important for a long time to come. Whereby working with cycles is now state-of-the-art and standard cycles for turning, milling and drilling have long been included in the performance range of modern controls.

The DMG MORI process chain is a prime example of a successful digital transformation and a practical link from the virtual to the real world. Its high level of customer benefit is substantiated among other things by the competence partnership between DECKEL MAHO Seebach GmbH and the Porsche LMP1 team, which won both the driver and the team title in last season’s Endurance Championship.

Based on its decades of application experience, DMG MORI has gone far beyond the standard and currently has 24 exclusive DMG MORI Technology Cycles for the fields of turning / Turn & Mill or rather milling / Mill & Turn in its portfolio. These enable the operator to realise complex machining operations up to 80 % faster directly on the machine via parameterised context menus.

Outstanding examples here include the machining of free-form surfaces using 5-axis interpolation or various cycles for gear production, such as gear hobbing and DMG MORI gearSKIVING. Other Technology Cycle highlights include the Machine Protection Control of machines, workpiece and tool via embedded sensor in the milling spindle of Turn & Mill and milling machines. 3D quickSET toolkit for checking and correcting the kinematic accuracy of 4 and 5-axis milling machines or the Application Tuning Cycle for the process-oriented tuning of feed drives are additional examples of the available 24 DMG MORI exclusive Technology Cycles.

Furthermore, DMG MORI are working continuously on improving the existing Technology Cycles to meet the demands of more customers. In this year two new versions will be presented LIVE on the machines. Multi-Threading 2.0 and Easy Tool Monitoring 2.0 for producing various kinds of thread geometries and protecting the machine axis in case of overload, collision or tool breakage during the machining process.

In other words, DMG MORI focuses on the person in every one of its strategies for the future, even in the case of the future trend Smart Factory. The machine tool manufacturer sees optimum integration of employee potential as the key success factor in the implementation of new production principles. This applies above all to the operation of machine tools due to the complex tasks this involves.

Complex, complete machining with compact turning-milling spindle

Workshop-oriented programming is still of great importance, especially in single item production and the production of small and medium-sized quantities. 24 exclusive DMG MORI Technology Cycles enable 80 % faster direct programming on the machine via a dialog. Outstanding examples here include various cycles for gear cutting or gearwheel production.

CTX gamma 2000 TC linear

With the CTX gamma 2000 TC, DMG MORI presents one of its most recent Turn & Mill machining centres of the second generation with the new turning-milling spindle compactMASTER at the DMG MORI Open House in Bielefeld.

The trend towards complete machining continues unbroken. On the one hand, the diversity of products and variants is growing across a multitude of different industries and this in turn leads to a reduction in lot sizes on an increasingly wider scale. In view of such conditions, complete machining in a single setup quickly becomes the only economic alternative. On the other hand, the workpieces are getting more and more complex while at the same time placing higher demands on precision. Adding to this, global competition is aggravating the earnings situation in manufacturing plants. DMG MORI has been revolutionizing turn-mill complete machining with its Turn & Mill machines in the CTX TC series ever since their first presentation eight years ago. These machining all-rounders have now entered their second series.

With a diameter of 8 in., the length of the compactMASTER spindle has been reduced by 2.8 in. so that it now measures only 17.7 in. – and all this with a 120 percent higher torque. The interplay of the 5.9 in. larger X-axis (-1 / +30.5 in.) and the 0.8 in. longer Y-travel of ± 8.3 in. brings an enormous gain in freedom for users.

The outstanding features of the CTX gamma 2000 TC are the X-travel, which has increased by 150 mm to now 800 mm, and the compactMASTER spindle of the B-axis, developed together with Japanese engineers as a cooperation project. Its unique selling point above all is the torque increased by 120 percent to 220 Nm.

With a diameter of 202 mm, the length of the compactMASTER spindle has been reduced by 70 mm so that it now measures only 450 mm – and all this with a 120 percent higher torque. The interplay of the 150-mm larger X-axis (-25 / +775 mm) and the 20-mm longer Y-travel of ± 210 mm brings an enormous gain in freedom for users. It means, for example, that radial machining of workpieces with maximum diameters of 700 mm is possible with 170-mm long tools (with the B-axis in a vertical position). The 2nd generation of the CTX gamma TC also has advantages where horizontal machining is concerned: Workpieces measuring up to a good 550 mm in length can now be completely drilled out horizontally on the CTX gamma 2000 TC or with a length of 2,050 mm hollow turned with no problem at all.

The core element of the new CTX gamma TC models is still the B-axis with its swivel angle of ±120°, which is mounted on a highly stable travelling column and ensures milling performance right through to the field of 5-axis simultaneous machining. The machine concept has been radically revised with just such stability and precision in mind. The machines now have an integral thermal concept. This includes among other things integrated bed cooling as well as cooling of the linear guides of the travelling column, the spindle motors and the drive of the B-axis. Combined with the MAGNESCALE magnetic measuring systems, the thermal displacement of the machine is now ≤ 10 µm.

In addition, DMG MORI has completely redesigned the travelling column. The U-shaped basic construction with 3+2 guide shoes in the Z-axis increases stability enormously, a feature that has a great impact on machining with the Y-axis. Linearity has been improved here by over 60 percent to now stand at ≤ 2 µm. Another indication of the innovative character of the machine is the up to 65 percent faster feed rate of 50 m/min in all axes. It can also be optionally equipped with a linear drive in the Z-axis, which with 1 g acceleration increases the feed to 60 m/min and ensures maximum long-term accuracy; including a 5-year warranty granted for the linear drive.

With regard to other equipment features, the CTX gamma 2000 TC is equipped with 36 tool pockets in their standard version. This capacity can be increased optionally to 80, 120 or 180 tools. Where tool holders are concerned, the customer has the choice of a standard HSK-A63 or a Capto C6, Capto C8 or HSK-A100. In addition, the optional counter-spindle opens up the possibility of up to 5-axis simultaneous 6-sided complete machining even for the most complex workpieces. Equipping the CTX gamma 2000 TC with the optional lower turret as a second tool holder for 12 powered tools with up to 10,000 rpm transforms them into veritable 5-axis production centres. Optional steady rests up to SLU 6 with maximum clamping diameters of 500 mm can be used instead of the second tool mount for the machining of shafts.

As Turn & Mill machining involves extremely complex processes, DMG MORI also focuses its development work on the operation and programming of the turn-mill equipment. Exclusive Technology Cycles for, among other things, 5-axis machining in the field of application-related shop floor programming have already simplified the work involved enormously. Parameterized context menus enabling simple input of the parameters in the dialog box as well as pre-defined and easy to learn input screens mean that advanced programming skills are hardly required any more, not even in the Mill & Turn field. Another example in this context is the new DMG MORI gearSKIVING cycle. This enables eight times faster and top quality production up to DIN 7 of both straight-cut as well as helical-cut outer and inner spur gears and spline shaft gearing compared to gear shaping. Even toothing on shoulders can be realized without any damage to the projecting edge, while surface structures for low-noise gears are possible virtually at the press of a button.

NLX – Solid perfection across the entire range

Fitting, oil and gas industry

Valve housing, fluid and hydraulics

One of the most popular models of the NLX series is the NLX 2500SY | 700.

The NLX series launched by DMG MORI in 2010 constitutes a consistent continuation of the highly successful NL series that was already a best seller on the international market. Today over 1,200 of these universal lathes are sold every year. Its impressive technical performance and modular design are the main factors that account for its broad market acceptance. The latter feature enables a total of 39 differently configured versions based on ten models, each of which offers maximum performance, flexibility and reliability in its area of application. Finally yet importantly, with the latest further development the new NLX machines are now available with the new joint DMG MORI design and CELOS. At the DMG MORI Open House in Bielefeld, DMG MORI will show one of the series’ most popular models – the NLX 2500SY | 700.

When it comes to lathes, stability and rigidity are the key to excellent machining results and efficient processes. This is exactly what was taken into consideration in the development of the NLX series. The results are convincing across the board. Thanks to the even more rigid linear drives, the updated machine bed and flat guides with their high damping capacity, the NLX models achieve a rigidity that is up to 30 % higher than that of the previous series. In particular, the larger ball-thread drives play a decisive role, because combined with the enlarged bearings they make the axes up to 50 % more rigid. In addition, DMG MORI has also improved thermal stability. The cooling system integrated in the machine bed reduces thermal displacement to a minimum.

All of the above and the modular design of the NLX machines provides the perfect foundation for optimum turning operations. An extensive range of advanced high-tech features enables individual solutions for virtually every application. DMG MORI offers 39 differently configured versions based on the ten available models. These range from a simple universal lathe up to turn-mill machining with a counter spindle, Y-axis and directly driven tools in the proven BMT turret. Both chuck and bar machining are possible with all versions.

One of the most popular models of the NLX series is the NLX 2500SY | 700. The standard version is equipped with main and counter spindle while the BMT turret has space for 10 driven tools. Turrets with 12 stations are also available as an option.

In order to cover a wide range of parts DMG MORI has provided the NLX 2500SY | 700 with a generous travel range. The turning length of 705 mm / 27.8 in. and maximum diameter of 366 mm / 14.4 in. speak for themselves. A spindle bar capacity of 80 mm / 3.1 in. also enables bar machining of even larger parts.

The temperature management of the machine should be emphasized with regard to the precision of the NLX 2500SY | 700. The coolant flows in an integrated circuit through the machine and machine bed ensuring a uniform temperature in the entire machine.